After 60 years living and working in London, Colin Edwards, a former trade union negotiator, now 69, and his wife Micheline, decided they did not want to retire there as well.
They set their sights on the Côte-d’Or department, but finding that Dijon, the regional and departmental capital, was close to London prices, looked further afield.
“The very rural and agricultural, and relatively cheap, northern area, turned out to be a happy hunting ground,” he said.
They bought a house in the village of Veuxhaulles-sur-Aube, in 2011 and moved permanently to France in 2014.
The village is in the Châtillonnais, in the upper quarter of the Côte-d’Or department (formally known as Burgundy).
The eastern part of the Châtillonnais is part of the largest national park in the EU, the Parc national de forêts, covering 560 km2.
Lady's Slipper is a rare type of orchid in FranceSerge Goujon/Shutterstock
The area is home to protected orchids, such as the rare ‘Lady’s Slipper’ (Sabot de Vénus), as well as black storks, the symbol of the park, which pass by on their migration route.
“Wildlife is all around us – there are wild boar and various types and sizes of deer, plus foxes, pine martens, red squirrels…. In the meadows here I have never seen so many, and such a variety of, butterflies.”
The area is rich in history, its forests providing cover for the French resistance when the area was in German occupied territory during World War Two.
“There are memorials to their sacrifice all across the area, as well as to British paratroopers who parachuted here with their jeeps to train the resistance and to harass the enemy.”
Another highlight of the region for Colin is its wine culture. The eastern part of Chatillonnais used to be in Champagne, but at the French Revolution it moved into Burgundy.
“As a result the sparkling wine made here cannot be called champagne, so it is called Crémant de Bourgogne. Much more reasonably priced, and often just as good as champagne from Champagne.”
Hunting and fishing are popular pursuits, and strictly controlled.
“Trout fishing is popular here, and like hunting, is not considered a rich person's pursuit because it is not expensive,” said Colin, who does fly fishing close to his house.
“Our house faces a weir on the Aube river, and we can watch our grandson fishing outside from our living room.
Another popular hobby of Colin’s is exploring the region’s forests and villages on his motorbike.
And he volunteers at the railway station in his village.
“The railway line closed a long time ago, but the preservation society has negotiated with SNCF that we can use the disused line to run vélorails (pedal-powered four wheel trucks with seating for two pedallers and three passengers) over a five kilometre section.”
The move to France has not been without challenges
“We have all the usual problems of rural France – a medical desert, no public transport…”
But he recently received his B1 diploma from the University of Reims, which he needs to apply for French nationality.
He has no regrets about moving to France.
“I will be out for a walk, or on my motorbike, and I will come to the crest of a hill, and there before me I see forests, rivers, lakes, meadows, distant village church spires… Unbidden, I hear a voice from inside my head – “I cannot believe how lucky I am to live here!”
